It is estimated that around the world, about half of adults have been unable to sleep for a few days. The number of people who truly meet the medical definition of insomnia may be less than 1/5 of the total.
How does the doctor define [insomnia]?
In the article < < what Causes Your Insomnia > > (Click to view), we said in detail that [insomnia] may have at least one of the following possible manifestations:
- Can’t sleep at night; Sleep lightly and wake up easily; Wake up too early and feel that there is not enough sleep. When I woke up, I felt that I had not recovered my energy and strength.
Among them, it is necessary for us to focus on the matter of not being able to sleep at night.
Some friends will think that if they sleep in bed at night and do not fall asleep immediately, they will suffer from insomnia, which is not necessarily the case.
At this time, it is normal to adjust to a calm state and fall asleep within half an hour in a comfortable sleep environment.
However, some friends were very anxious because they did not [fall asleep as soon as they touched the pillow]. In a hurry, it is more difficult to fall asleep. It was too late, and I was very sleepy the next day. I was likely to sleep during the day. Once you get some sleep, it is more difficult to fall asleep at night…
This is not necessarily insomnia, it is caused by [poor sleep hygiene].
Is what [Poor Sleep Hygiene]?
First of all, we need to make it clear that good sleep hygiene habits are as follows:
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Beverages or foods containing caffeine are limited to the end of noon.
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No strenuous exercise will be carried out 2 hours before falling asleep.
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The bed is only used for sleeping or loving. Avoid staying in bed too long when awake.
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Keep a regular wake-up time, no matter how late you sleep, you must stick to getting up at a fixed time in the morning.
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Bedroom needs [quiet] [cool] and [soft, weak light], quilt should not be too heavy, pillow should not make people too uncomfortable, bedroom should not have too strong smell;
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Before going to bed, don’t do anything that makes your feelings fluctuate too violently, such as watching horror movies.
Then, the opposite, or breaking this series of good habits, is defined as [poor sleep hygiene]. For example:
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The arrangement of sleep time is unreasonable, including frequent naps during the day, very irregular bedtime and wake-up time, or spending too much time in bed;
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Accustomed to drinking, smoking and drinking coffee, especially before going to bed;
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Watching horror movies, arguing with people, running long distances or exercising are too close to sleeping time.
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Often eat, do homework, think about things, watch TV, study and so on in bed, and use the bed as a [comfortable reclining chair];
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The sleeping environment is not comfortable enough, for example, there are people in the room who always snore, the next door is either quarrelling in the middle of the night or decorating in the middle of the night, the quilt is too thin or thick, the bed is too hard, the curtains are too thin, the indoor temperature is too high or too low all the year round, the indoor flowers or other smells are too strong, etc.
At present, there is no clear evidence that patients who have been diagnosed with [insomnia] can obviously relieve the symptoms of insomnia without treatment and changing the above habits alone-after all, the cause of insomnia is rarely simply poor sleep hygiene.
For example, we can feel it ourselves. Most of the time, being unable to sleep has a lot to do with our own experience or experience.
What are the other reasons for insomnia?
Almost everyone has one or several times in his life that he has to face great pressure or suddenly change his sleep environment and cannot sleep well for days, weeks or even two or three months.
When the stress is solved, or when you adapt to the new environment, you will sleep well. At this time, you often do not need the intervention of professional doctors or consultants.
However, people may also show insomnia symptoms when they encounter the following situations.
At this time, we can’t keep a close eye on [insomnia]. We need to solve the problem of insomnia.
1. Medical diseases
Rheumatic diseases, cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases, heart failure, prostatic hyperplasia, untreated snoring, etc., may lead to insomnia due to the following reasons:
- Pain; Difficulty in breathing, or inability to lie flat and breathe; More urine at night.
In addition, drugs that patients with chronic diseases need to take are also likely to cause insomnia.
2. Medicines
Drugs that may cause insomnia mainly include the following types:
- Anticonvulsants: such as lamotrigine; Antidepressants: such as bupropion, protiline, fluoxetine, citalopram, escitalopram, venlafaxine; -Receptor blockers: such as propranolol, indolol and metoprolol; Steroid drugs: such as prednisone; Decongestants: such as phenylpropanolamine and pseudoephedrine; Bronchial relaxants: such as theophylline; Psychostimulants: such as dextroamphetamine, deoxyephedrine and modafinil; Immunosuppressive drugs: such as interferon, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil.
3. Mental and psychological disorders
Poor sleep is a common symptom of mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), especially in patients with depression, and this kind of manifestation is especially obvious in the elderly.
In addition, patients with anxiety disorders are also prone to [unable to sleep].
Some patients will ignore other manifestations and only focus on sleep problems, trying to find solutions. In fact, this is a palliative choice.
Most of the time, depression patients with serious sleep problems receive antidepressant treatment, and the first relief is precisely the sleep symptoms.